Craig Hill
Clarinet
After formative studies with Phillip Miechel at the Victorian College of the Arts, Craig Hill was a recipient of a German Academic Exchange scholarship, completing postgraduate studies in 1991 at the Freiburg Musikhochschule with Dieter Kloecker, a performer and scholar who has done much in rediscovering music of the classical era.
Following his solo debut with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra in 1997, Craig Hill has come to national recognition for his performances on period clarinets in repertoire spanning from Telemann to Mozart, Weber and Brahms. Regular seasons as the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s principal clarinet have subsequently become a favourite feature of his calendar. His recording of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the ABO under the direction of Paul Dyer has been released by ABC Classics.
Craig Hill has appeared at festivals throughout Australia and the United States. Highlights include collaborations with Geoffrey Lancaster, Bart van Ort, the Australian Bach Ensemble, Elizabeth Wallfisch and the former concertmaster of the ABO, Lucinda Moon. A guest principal clarinet with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Pinchgut Opera, he has given many broadcasts for ABC Classic FM.
Since 2004 Craig is a guest principal clarinet of the period instrument orchestra Concerto Copenhagen. Under the direction of Lars Ulrik Mortensen he has given over twenty performances Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito at the Royal Danish Opera, and has joined the orchestra in the recording studio and the presentation of a chamber music festival “Vinter- Klassik” at the Garrison Church in Copenhagen.
In February 2009 he was a soloist with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra during the opening festival of the Melbourne Recital Centre, and in April he was the artistic director of a mini festival of period instrument chamber music, Concertino Copenhagen, which brought together musicians from Australia and Europe for three concerts at the same venue.
A member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 1992, Craig Hill performs contemporary and twentieth century music with Melbourne’s Astra choir & ensemble.